It was revenge for the boys contest between the Charlotte Amalie High School and the Educational Complex, as the Chicken Hawks squeaked by the Barracudas, 50-48, to win the boys championship of the Knight Quality Stations Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Basketball Tournament on Monday afternoon.
The game was a thriller. The Chicken Hawks led after every quarter and basically controlled the game until the fourth quarter. The Chicken Hawks led 33-27 after the third quarter. At one point in the fourth quarter they led by 11 points.
The Chicken Hawks had a seven-point lead with 3:50 remaining in the game. The Barracudas went on a 12-4 run to take their first lead of the game 41-40 with 1:35 remaining. The Chicken Hawks quickly answered to regain the led 42-41 with 1:21 left in the game.
The Barracudas sank one out of two free throw opportunities, but the Chicken Hawks tied the game at 43 on their next posession. The Barracudas missed their next field goal attempt.
The Chicken Hawks' Andrew Christian quickly drove the ball down the court and tried to dribble the ball through three or four defenders and appeared to travel before he put up the shot. However, referee Vince Hendrickson called a blocking foul on the Barracudas.
Barracudas coach Dean Haywood blew his top, called his team off the court and said "Give them the game!" But he reconsidered and put his team back on the court.
The referees conferred and gave the Barracudas a technical foul for walking of the court. That gave the Chicken Hawks three free throws and the ball.
Christian made the final two of his three free throw attempts to give the Chicken Hawks a four-point lead, 47-43, with 50 seconds left in the game. The Barracudas' Andre Eryshee nailed a three-point basket with 38 seconds remaining to put his team within one.
After the Chicken Hawks made one out of two free throws to increase their lead, Haywood called a time out with 13.5 seconds left in the game. He told his team to "go for the win, go for a three."
After the time out, Eryshee missed his three-point attempt. However, his teammate Joey Wallace grabbed the rebound and made a jump shot to tie the game at 48 with 3.1 seconds remaining.
But the Barracudas fell asleep as the Chicken Hawks inbounded the ball to point guard Steve Gardener. Gardener then threw a bomb to the sprinting Akim Lettsome, who made a layup as time expired.
"I thought Steve didn't see me at first," said Lettsome, "but once he did I knew it was over."
In other boys' games the Central High School Caribs beat the Good Hope Falcons, 65-50.
The Barracudas defeated the Antilles Hurricanes, 76-16. In the third place game, the Ivanna Eudora Kean Devil Rays beat the Caribs, 54-52.
